A Rough Week

Well we've had quite the week.  James and Claire had been fighting a cold for a few days but things quickly went downhill Tuesday night.  Matt was out of town and Ethan got sick quickly.  I think the longest stretch of sleep he got Tuesday night was 45 minutes.  He was downright miserable.  Coughing and breathing heavily and not eating.  If Matt had been home, I might have taken him to the ER, but the idea of waking the other two up to get bundled up on a very cold night and sit in the ER wasn't very appealing.  I decided instead to be waiting at the pediatrician when they opened on Wednesday.  I even left a voicemail saying that I was going to be there.  They called me back while I was on the way and said that I should absolutely come right in.  So I grabbed a few toys and snacks and took all three to the pediatrician by myself for the first time.

Dr. Alli was immediately concerned by Ethan's condition and did two breathing treatments with him in the office.  He didn't respond to these, so she said that I needed to go ahead and take him to the ER at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).  She also thought that James' breathing didn't sound good and didn't want a doctor to hear him at the ER and admit him as a patient as well, so we also gave him a breathing treatment.  Thankfully, he responded well.  She also gave him a prescription for an antibiotic because James had a double ear infection. 

By this point, we'd been at the pediatrician for about two hours and I was running out of tricks.  The kids had finished their snacks and were tired of the crayons, stuffed animals, and toy cars that I had brought along.  They even got bored with the band-aids the nurses gave them to play with.  (Just a little tip for other parents out there, if you have crayons at the doctor, rip off a big piece of paper from the exam table and let them color on that!)  The nurses and Dr. Alli were so kind.  At one point Dr. Alli even offered to take off the rest of the day to come to the ER and help with Claire and James.  What a great doctor we have!

I did disobey the doctor's orders to go straight to the ER and went through a drive through on the way because James and Claire were understandably grumpy and I knew we had a long afternoon ahead of us.  We were thankfully able to be seen right away at the ER.  Later that day, I heard the wait was over an hour and a half.  Some kind receptionists gave Claire and James coloring books.  The ER nurse was awesome.  She even had the idea to have James and Claire sit on the bed to color and watch TV and eat their lunch while Ethan stayed in his carseat.  This same nurse also let me take Claire and James to run around a waiting room while they put in an IV.  Claire and James each received stuffed monkeys in the waiting room that helped provide some more entertainment.

In the ER, Ethan received a different type of breathing treatment but still didn't respond well.  He was put on oxygen and given fluids through an IV to keep him hydrated.  The doctor decided to have him admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of "Bronchiolitis" caused by a virus.  Since it was from a virus, there wasn't really any medication that could be given to treat the cold.  We were going to have to wait it out and treat the symptoms.  Babies in hospital gowns are just about the saddest thing ever.

 
Matt headed home from Alabama as soon as he heard that we were going to the ER.  He arrived at the hospital mid-afternoon and took James and Claire home.  My mom was able to come that evening to watch them.  Matt had to go to a meeting in south Georgia on Thursday, so we were very thankful for her help.  Ethan and I got settled into a room upstairs and the waiting began.  He was taken off the oxygen pretty quickly but received breathing treatments and had his nose suctioned out every four hours.  It took him a few days to start eating regularly, so he remained on IV fluids until Saturday morning.  It was a long few days in the hospital.  Neither of us got enough sleep.  Matt spent Friday night there with us.  MM took Claire and James to her house on Friday, so that we could get some rest after we came home.

All in all, it was a very tough week, but I'm so thankful for the help we had, the kind staff at CHOA, and the thoughts and prayers of all our friends.  Ethan was quite the little trooper.  His smiles made the nurses and techs smile often (even though Ethan couldn't see the smiles back because he was considered to be in isolation and  everyone wore masks in the room).  A tech preforming an hour long ultrasound said that Ethan was the best baby she's ever had.  Despite feeling so miserable, Ethan was very comforted by his pacifier and stuffed zebra and singing. 

James and Claire have had a good time with MM and Pops.  I know they must be exhausted, but we appreciate the help SO VERY MUCH!  Mom sent me periodic pictures to see what they were up to.

 

Ethan is so happy to be home now!